Formatting Gridlines

In this section:

Format Grid Lines Dialog Box
Gridline Elements Shortcut Menu
Using Gridline Properties

Gridlines are used on a chart as a reference to help you understand the quantities and values of your data and decode information on the axis. There are four types of gridlines that you can display and edit on your chart. They are:

Horizontal major gridlines
Horizontal minor gridlines
Vertical major gridlines
Vertical minor gridlines

Major gridlines enhance the display of values, while minor gridlines supplement major gridlines. If a plot point falls in between major gridlines, you can use minor gridlines for more precise interpretation of the data.

Vertical gridlines in a vertical chart run on the X axis.
Horizontal gridlines in a vertical chart run on the Y axis.

Horizontal major gridlines enhance the display of values, compared to the Y-axis scale alone. They are enabled by default on many charts. They do not apply to the pie, 3D, gauge, spectral map, or funnel chart type.
Horizontal minor gridlines are disabled by default. They do not apply to the pie, 3D, gauge, spectral map, or funnel chart type.
Vertical major gridlines enhance the display of values, compared to the X-axis scale alone. They are enabled by default. They do not apply to the pie, 3D, gauge, spectral map, or funnel chart type.
Vertical minor gridlines are disabled by default. They apply only to scatter and bubble chart types, where the X axis is numeric. They do not apply to the pie, 3D, gauge, spectral map, or funnel chart type.

Note: The orientation of a chart determines the available gridline options.

Format Grid Lines Dialog Box

You can format horizontal and vertical gridlines, color bands, and frames on a chart using the options in the Format Grid Lines dialog box. For instructions on how to open this dialog box, see the procedures in Using Gridline Properties.

Color bands come in a pair, with each band uniquely colored. They appear in a continually repeating pattern behind a series on a chart. The contrast of colors is designed to make the chart easier to read.

Alternate formatting can be used to apply different colors to sections, called regions, of an axis.

The Format Grid Lines dialog box contains the following tabs:

Major Grid Lines
Minor Grid Lines
Color Bands
Frames

Note: The Color Bands and the Frames options are not available in InfoAssist Basic.

Use the Major Grid Lines tab to format the major gridlines on the chart.

The Major Grid Lines tab contains the following options:

Show Grid Lines. Select this option to display major gridlines on a chart if minor gridlines are the default for the chart.
Line Style. Click this icon to open the Line Style dialog box, where you can edit the color, weight, and style of the gridline.
Show Ticks. Select this check box to enable or disable the tick mark functionality.
Tick Style. Select from this drop-down menu of tick styles (Inside, Outside, Spanning).
Line Style. Click this icon to open the Line Style dialog box, where you can edit the color, weight, and style of the gridline.

Use the Minor Grid Lines tab to format the minor gridlines on your chart.

The Minor Grid Lines tab contains the following options:

Show Grid Lines. Select this option to display minor gridlines on a chart. By default, this option is enabled.
Line Style. Click this icon to open the Line Style dialog box, where you can edit the color, weight, and style of the gridline.
Grid count. Set the number of minor gridlines that will appear between major gridlines.
Show Ticks. Select this check box to enable or disable the tick mark functionality.
Tick Style. Select from this drop-down menu of tick styles (Inside, Outside, Spanning).
Line Style. Click this icon to open the Line Style dialog box, where you can edit the color, weight, and style of the gridline.

Use the Color Bands tab to format the color bands on your chart.

The Color Bands tab contains the following options:

Band 1. Select this option to add Band 1 to a chart.
- Color. Click this icon to open the Color dialog box, where you can edit the color of Band 1.
- Transparency. Move the slider to make Band 1 opaque (0%) or transparent (100%). The default is 0%.
- %. Enter or select the percentage of the transparency of Band 1.
Band 2. Select this option to add Band 2 to a chart.
- Color. Click this icon to open the Color dialog box, where you can edit the color of Band 2.
- Transparency. Move the slider to make the Band 2 opaque (0%) or transparent (100%). The default is 0%.
- %. Enter or select the percentage of the transparency of Band 2.

Use the Frames tab to enable or disable frame regions, and to set the location and style of the frame text.

The Frames tab contains the following options:

Show Frame Regions. Select this option to show a frame region. Clear this option to suppress a frame region.
- Region. Select from this drop-down list, the region that you want to format.
- Add. Click this button to add a region.
- Remove. Click this button to remove a region.
Location. Enter the location of the region.
Color. Click this icon to open the Color dialog box, where you can edit the color of the frame.
Border Color. Click this icon to open the Color dialog box, where you can edit the color of the frame border.
Text. Enter the text that you want to appear on the frame.
Style Text. Click this icon to style the frame text.

For instructions on how to open this dialog box, see the procedures in Using Gridline Properties.

Gridline Elements Shortcut Menu

When you right-click a gridline on a chart, a menu of options opens. The options for the gridline elements are described in the following table.

Element	Option	Description
Horizontal Major Gridlines Horizontal Minor Gridlines Vertical Major Gridlines Vertical Minor Gridlines	Delete	Removes the gridline from the chart and updates the Live Preview accordingly.
Set Line Color	Enables you to specify the color of the gridline, using the Color dialog box. For more information, see Using the Color Dialog Box.
More Grid Lines Options	Opens the Format Gridlines dialog box. For more information, see Format Gridlines Dialog Box.

Element

Option

Description

Horizontal Major Gridlines

Horizontal Minor Gridlines

Vertical Major Gridlines

Vertical Minor Gridlines

Delete

Removes the gridline from the chart and updates the Live Preview accordingly.

Set Line Color

Enables you to specify the color of the gridline, using the Color dialog box. For more information, see Using the Color Dialog Box.

More Grid Lines Options

Opens the Format Gridlines dialog box. For more information, see Format Gridlines Dialog Box.

Using Gridline Properties

How to:

Display Horizontal Major Gridlines
Display Horizontal Minor Gridlines
Display Vertical Major Gridlines
Display Vertical Minor Gridlines
Set the Color, Weight, and Style of a Gridline
Set Ticks
Set Color Bands
Delete a Gridline
Add Frames to Regions on a Chart

The following sections contain procedures for customizing gridlines.

Procedure: How to Display Horizontal Major Gridlines

If your chart does not display gridlines by default, use this procedure to generate gridlines.

Create a chart.
On the Format tab, in the Features group, open the Grid drop-down menu, point to Horizontal Gridlines, and then click Major Gridlines.

Horizontal major gridlines are added to the chart.

Procedure: How to Display Horizontal Minor Gridlines

Create a chart.
Access the option to show gridlines in one of the following ways:
- Ribbon: On the Format tab, in the Features group, open the Grid drop-down menu. On the Grid drop-down menu, point to Horizontal Gridlines, and then click Minor Gridlines.
- Shortcut Menu: Right-click the gridlines on the chart, and click More Grid Lines Options. The Format Horizontal Grid Lines dialog box opens. On the Minor Grid Lines tab, select Show Grid Lines.
Horizontal minor gridlines are added to the chart.

Procedure: How to Display Vertical Major Gridlines

Create a chart.
Access the option to show gridlines in one of the following ways:
- Ribbon: On the Format tab, in the Features group, open the Grid drop-down menu. On the Grid drop-down menu, point to Vertical Gridlines, and then click Major Gridlines.
- Shortcut Menu: Right-click the gridlines on the chart, and click More Grid Lines Options. The Format Vertical Grid Lines dialog box opens. On the Major Grid Lines tab, select Show Grid Lines.
Vertical major gridlines are added to the chart.

Procedure: How to Display Vertical Minor Gridlines

Create a chart.
Access the option to show gridlines in one of the following ways:
- Ribbon: On the Format tab, in the Features group, open the Grid drop-down menu. On the Grid drop-down menu, point to Vertical Gridlines, and then click Minor Gridlines.
- Shortcut Menu: Right-click the gridlines on the chart, and click More Grid Lines Options. The Format Vertical Grid Lines dialog box opens. On the Minor Grid Lines tab, select Show Grid Lines.
Vertical minor gridlines are added to the chart.

Procedure: How to Set the Color, Weight, and Style of a Gridline

Open the Format Grid Lines dialog box in one of the following ways:
- Ribbon: On the Format tab, in the Features group, open the Grid drop-down menu, point to the gridline type that you want to format, and click More Grid Lines Options.
- Shortcut Menu: Right-click a gridline, and click More Grid Lines Options.
The Format Grid Lines dialog box opens.
Click the Line Style icon.

The Line Style dialog box opens.
Set the color, weight, and style of the gridline.
Click OK to close the Line Style dialog box.
Click OK again to close the Format Grid Lines dialog box.

The gridline is formatted accordingly.

The following image shows a line chart with styling applied to the gridlines.

Procedure: How to Set Ticks

Ticks are short lines which are perpendicular to a gridline. They are used to tick off specific increments along the gridline.

Create a chart with gridlines.
Open the Format Grid Lines dialog box in one of the following ways:
- Ribbon: On the Format tab, in the Features group, open the Grid drop-down menu, point to the gridline type that you want to format, and click More Grid Lines Options.
- Shortcut Menu: Right-click a gridline, and click More Grid Lines Options.
The Format Grid Lines dialog box opens.
From the Tick Style drop-down menu, select a tick style option. The options are:
- Inside
- Outside
- Spanning
Click the Line Style icon to open the Line Style dialog box, where you can edit the color, weight, and style of the gridline.
Click OK to close the Line Style dialog box.
Click OK again to close the Format Grid Lines dialog box.

The tick marks are formatted accordingly.

The following image shows a chart with tick marks spanning both the vertical axis and horizontal axis.

Procedure: How to Set Color Bands

Create a chart with gridlines.
Open the Format Grid Lines dialog box in one of the following ways:
- Ribbon: On the Format tab, in the Features group, open the Grid drop-down menu, point to gridlines that you want to format, and click More Grid Lines Options.
- Shortcut Menu: Right-click a gridline, and click More Grid Lines Options.
The Format Grid Lines dialog box opens.
On the Color Bands tab, click the Color icon to open the Color dialog box, where you can set the color of the color bands.
Use the transparency slider, or the percentage box, to type or select the percentage of the transparency that you want to apply to the color.
Click OK to close the Color dialog box.
Click OK again to close the Format Grid Lines dialog box.

The following image shows a chart with color bands along the horizontal gridline.

Procedure: How to Delete a Gridline

Create a chart with gridlines.
Select a gridline.
Delete the gridline in one of the following ways:
- Ribbon: On the Format tab, in the Features group, open the Grid drop-down menu. From the menu, point to the gridline that you want to format, and click More Grid Lines to open the Format Grid Lines dialog box. On the tab for the gridline that you want to delete, clear the Show Grid Lines option, and click OK.
- Shortcut Menu: Right-click the gridline, and from the menu, select Delete.
The gridline is deleted from the chart.

Procedure: How to Add Frames to Regions on a Chart

Create a chart.
On the Format tab, in the Features group, click Grid.
On the drop-down menu, point to either Horizontal Gridlines or Vertical Gridlines, and then click More Grid Lines Options.

The Format Grid Lines dialog box opens.
On the Frames tab, select the Show Frame Regions check box.
Click Apply.

Colored frames are added to the chart, using the default styling options. Optionally, you may use the color and border color options to change these.

The following image shows a bar chart with colored frames around each region.